In Jill Tarter's interview, she discusses how researchers at SETI look for extraterrestrial life by trying to look for engineered signals. Since I wasn't sure how exactly we could say we found extraterrestrial life, I found this method very interesting. I did also think that this may not be the only way; I wonder if there are signals that we as humans could detect to begin with that other forms of life would send. Moreover, this is assuming that there is an intelligent life species that wants to send signals to other species in space, so I am curious to see what kind of other signals we should be looking for to detect extraterrestrial life. I liked how Jill Tarter said that science fiction is a good vehicle for imagining life in other parts of the universe, and how it helps us stretch our minds. I definitely agree that we could collectively use our creativity to think outside the box so that we can properly invest our time and money into looking for signs of life outside of Earth.
One question I would like to ask Jill Tarter is if she has any other ideas on what other types of signals we could be looking for. She wonders this out loud, but I would like to hear what her initial thoughts are. I'd also like to know how she would answer the question that she poses to the first contact if it were to happen: "How did you make it through this technological adolescence without blowing yourselves up?" Does she think that it's inevitable that intelligent life can only last so long? I feel that since extraterrestrial life isn't necessarily going to look like ours (just like how exoplanet systems aren't exactly like the solar system, although most are), maybe this 'technological adolescence' is only applicable to us.
What a thoughtful post, Victoria, thanks!!